Crystal Cathedral Denies Ousting Schuller

Despite Monday’s reports that Robert H. Schuller was ousted from the board of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, a church spokesman denies the claim.

“He [Robert H. Schuller] was not voted off the board,” John Charles, the Garden Grove, Calif., church spokesman told the Los Angeles Times. “He is still board chairman emeritus.”

Instead, the megachurch claims the board opted to change the 84-year-old founder’s position. A day after Schuller’s son, Robert Anthony Schuller, claimed his father was ousted because he wanted to enlarge the board, the church released a statement.

“Recently, the board of directors of Crystal Cathedral Ministries voted to change Dr. Schuller’s position from that of a voting board member to the honorary chairman of the board emeritus, a non-voting position,” the statement said.

According to the Times, Charles said Schuller will now be more available for speaking engagements and a writing project. “He will also continue to speak in the pulpit of the Crystal Cathedral and on the Hour of Power and meet with staff in creative and vision-casting meetings,” he said in Monday’s statement.

The church has struggled before with Schuller family controversies. The elder Schuller stepped down as the senior pastor in 2006 and his son took over the pulpit. The younger Schuller resigned just two years later, shortly after his father removed him from the Hour of Power television program. His sister, Sheila Schuller Coleman, now serves as the church’s executive director.

Crystal Catherdral has also faced financial troubles, and is currently on sale to escape bankruptcy. In a statement released in May explaining the church’s reorganization plan, Coleman explained that she will continue to look to her father for advice.

“Dad will continue to provide leadership for this ministry through me for as long as possible,” she said in the statement. “I have and will continue to defer to his wisdom and honor him for his unprecedented accomplishments.”